The 20th Annual World Food Day Teleconference is coming to Mississippi State University Thursday. The topic of the satellite teleconference is “Collaboration or Calamity: Africa in Peril.”
Wanda Dodson, for professor of human science, said: “World Food Day aids us in becoming better informed about political, economic and social issues that impact food availability and health in a selected area of the world.”
She also said World Food Day raises awareness on a local level.
Events will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The teleconference will be held at the Bost Extension Center Theater and Auditorium from 11 a.m. to noon, followed by a lunch and speaker’s presentation from noon to 1 p.m. A question-and-answer session will conclude the conference from 1 to 2 p.m.
The event’s theme will focus on the situation in sub-Saharan Africa and its problems. Some of the topics will be drought, famine, insufficient international support and a lack of educational activities.
Urban Jonsson, UNICEF’s executive director, will speak at the event. Jonsson has done advocacy work in Africa regarding children, action against HIV/AIDS and the right to food.
Thomas, a social worker, will present a slideshow regarding his work in Africa. Thomas conducted research in Ghana for the Charles R. Drew International Research Training Program.
The lunch, provided by the school of human sciences, will be a vegetable stew representative of what might be served in a household in Sub-Saharan Africa. Participants are being encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item for a local food pantry.
The teleconference provides information for classroom discussion, Dodson said. A large amount of written material is available.”
Gloria Hamilton, a lecturer in sociology, anthropology and social work, said, “I think it is important for students to become more aware of the global problem of hunger not just in Africa, but throughout the world. The problem in Africa is more pervasive than most people realize.”
An emergency hunger-relief service, called America’s Second Harvest Network, provides its services to more than 9 million children each year, Hamilton said.
“Hunger is not about shortage of food because the world produces enough food. It is about distribution of food and that will involve nations working together to create the policies, provide the funding and implement the programs to eliminate hunger,” Hamilton said.
According to Hamilton, the U.S. National Committee for WFD, a coalition of 450 non-governmental organizations, is sponsoring the WFD teleconference. WFD, which began in 1981, marked the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the largest specialized agency of the UN system and marked by nations around the world.
The social work department and School of Human Sciences, and the local Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers serve as the local co-sponsors of the program.
Hannah Brittain, a political science professor with experience in Africa, said: “It is impressive that so many departments at MSU have come together to think strategically about such a pressing international issue.”
Brittain said she wants to take action to fight hunger in the local community.
“The problem of hunger requires cooperative action. Hunger in Africa is not about a lack of food; it is an issue of power, governance and global inequality. World Food Day is a key opportunity for all of us to understand these issues,” Brittain said.
For more information, contact Gloria Hamilton at 325-7874.